The European Union has awarded a Wolverhampton-based training group a further £685,000 sending 150 young people to Spain, Italy and Germany for work placements, to kick-start their careers.The project, led by Gecko Programmes, aims to provide work experience and boost job skills so that local young people can gain employment locally.This builds on the success of a current project, which has already been awarded £1.3m by the European Union. Gecko Programmes leads a consortium of colleges in Birmingham and the Black Country. To take part in the project you need to have been a student at one of the colleges in the last 12 months.The partner colleges are City of Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley, Birmingham Metropolitan, and South and City College Birmingham.All the costs of the flights, accommodation and pocket-money for food and travel are provided by the EU. Those who take part will find themselves working in a company in Florence, La Coruna, Seville, Lanciano or Berlin for a period between two and eight weeks.Gecko is recruiting now for groups that start in January 2017. For more information visit www.geckoprogrammes.co.uk or call 01902 837416.